The U.S. Vapor Technology Association (VTA) stated that only when there are viable alternatives to menthol-flavored cigarettes and flavored e-cigarette products on the market can the FDA's proposal regarding menthol-flavored cigarettes improve public health.
In April of this year, the FDA announced a plan to ban the sale of menthol-flavored cigarettes, which make up approximately one-third of the tobacco market in the United States. As of August 2nd, the officials are collecting public opinions on this plan.
In their official commentary on the proposed product standards, VTA urged the FDA to continue reforms for menthol and flavored electronic cigarette products, providing smokers with effective alternatives to traditional smoking.
In a statement, the VTA said that the "menthol cigarette rule" could potentially lead to a significant reduction in smoking - the leading cause of death and disease in the United States - but only if the agency heeds warnings from scientists that menthol smokers must have access to less harmful electronic cigarettes and other nicotine alternatives.
These restrictions may achieve a victory for public health and turn it into a benchmark. However, without the FDA taking further decisive action, this will fall far short of a triumph for public health.
Scientific experts of the FDA acknowledge that at least 50%, and possibly even more, of smokers will continue to smoke or use other combustible products unless provided with effective alternatives after the implementation of menthol cigarette regulations.
The VTA stated that in order to achieve its mission of harm reduction, the organization must utilize its PMTA process to ensure a reasonable and regulated market, while also providing suitable, less hazardous non-flammable alternatives.
Statement:
This article is compiled from information from third-party sources and is intended for industry professionals to share and learn from.
The views expressed in this article do not represent those of 2FIRSTS, and 2FIRSTS cannot confirm the truth or accuracy of the article's content. The translation of this article is solely for industry research and exchange.
Due to limitations in translation skills, the translated article may not accurately reflect the original text. Please refer to the original text for accuracy.
2FIRSTS maintains full consistency with the Chinese government's stance and positions on any domestic, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, or foreign-related issues and statements.
The copyright of compiled information belongs to the original media and its author. If there is any infringement, please contact us for deletion.
This document has been generated through artificial intelligence translation and is provided solely for the purposes of industry discourse and learning. Please note that the intellectual property rights of the content belong to the original media source or author. Owing to certain limitations in the translation process, there may be discrepancies between the translated text and the original content. We recommend referring to the original source for complete accuracy. In case of any inaccuracies, we invite you to reach out to us with corrections. If you believe any content has infringed upon your rights, please contact us immediately for its removal.
